We have had many promising directorial debuts this year, including Sophy Romvari’s “Blue Heron,” Adrian Chiarella’s “Leviticus,” Cal McMau’s “Wasteman,” and Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid.” However, the most acclaimed, and the best of the bunch (or closely tied with Romvari’s film), is Marine Atlan’s “La Gradiva.”
You might have already heard about “La Gradiva,” which wowed Cannes and has since garnered further acclaim at TIFF. As anyone lucky enough to catch the film will know, it did not deserve to be relegated to the Critics’ Week sidebar at Cannes; its quality is such that it should have been selected for Cannes’ main competition and contended for the Palme d’Or.
“La Gradiva” follows a sun-soaked French class trip to Pompeii, where teenagers explore the rich history of the ancient site while grappling with anxieties over university acceptance letters, love, and the uncertainty of adulthood. This dreamy film avoids familiar coming-of-age clichés by portraying its young characters with unusual depth and compassion. Their insecurities, desires, loneliness, and moments of cruelty are all treated with remarkable authenticity.
The central students include Toni, an emotionally fragile teenager secretly in love with his best friend James, who is romantically involved with Angela. Another student, Suzanne, quietly struggles with feelings of invisibility and self-worth. Overseeing the trip is Mercier, a weary teacher attempting to inspire her increasingly distracted students through lessons about Pompeii and its history.
Visually, Atlan and co-cinematographer Pierre W. Mazoyer create an intoxicating atmosphere of warm sunlight and film grain. The film balances poetic imagery with thoughtful discussions of privilege, class, and the uncertain futures awaiting the students. You can’t help but be absorbed.
“La Gradiva” can be utterly hypnotic in its simplicity—and that is saying something for a 2.5-hour film. Yet it breezes by, transporting you to another time and place and, like the best cinema, making you feel as if you’re eavesdropping on the most intimate of moments.
1-2 Special, a small-ish indie boutique, has snapped up the U.S. distribution rights and set a December 18, 2026 release for Atlan’s film, which now has a trailer. It will screen at the New York Film Festival on September 28.
Michel Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning director of "The Artist" and a Cannes competition regular, has just wrapped production on his latest film, "The Third Hand."